The Dangers of Drinking Cactus Juice
by chromeknickers
Summary: A humorous tale in which Sokka plays a jug, Momo is accused of mutiny, and Zuko busts out some hot square dancing moves. There's laughter and tears, mostly Momo's and Sokka's, and maybe a little bit of romance. It's a night Team Avatar won't soon forget.


Due to popular demand (on FFN, LJ, and through emails), I decided to expand on the "Let's Dance" drabble from my Unrequited collection. And so here is the "night before" where Zuko, Sokka, and Momo get drunk on slightly diluted cactus juice. There may or may not be some unrequited romance accompanying the humour at the end. You'll just have to read on to find out.

Enjoy!

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**The Dangers of Drinking Cactus Juice**

Team Avatar was about to snap. Tensions were high, tempers were boiling, and nerves were rubbed raw. For a lack of better choice of phrasing, a meltdown was inevitable.

Everyone was too _something_ more than usual: Aang was too aloof and brooding, Sokka was too frazzled, Toph was too bitingly sarcastic, and Zuko was too I've-got-to-help-Aang-defeat-my-evil-father. And Katara – well, Katara was just trying to keep them all sane and focussed. But a shit-hit-the-fan scenario was bound to happen with so many stressed out benders (_and Sokka_) congregated in one small area just days before Sozin's Comet (_inevitable, remember?_). Luckily, Sokka decided to nip the impending implosion of doom in the butt before it got that far. He reckoned that what they all needed was to have one night of fun and relaxation. Unfortunately that meant that Sokka would make a poor attempt at becoming a brewer. The result? Slightly diluted cactus juice.

Aang had decided to skip out on the festivities early. In fact, watching Sokka cackle and gleefully rub his hands together while muttering "cactus juice" repeatedly was Aang's cue to exit (_as it should have been for everyone else_). The approaching battle with Lord Ozai was weighing heavily on Aang's mind, and with good reason.

While Katara declined the horrid drink, knowing full-well what cactus juice (_diluted or not_) could do to a person, she couldn't begrudge the others of having their fun. Sure, she was the motherly type, but she reasoned that they all needed a release (_that, and it would be 'educating' to see Zuko drunk_). However, it should be noted that she did take Toph's cup away after the master Earthbender's first sip. She was only twelve after all, and she would thank Katara later. Besides, the lack of intoxication didn't stop Toph from encouraging bad behaviour between the boys (_it was kinda one of her things_).

As the party progressed, night swiftly stole over the villa. Everyone was roaring with laughter, raising their cups in cheer. Seated beside a boisterous Toph, Katara smiled and watched as Zuko's cheeks began to bloom an intoxicating pink. He laughed and joked and playfully elbowed Sokka, who was slowly deteriorating into an unstable mental state (_as indicated by the drool running down his chin_).

"Zuko," Sokka began in a somewhat story-regaling tone and with his arm slung over the Fire Prince's shoulders, "I—" he hiccupped "—I tell you—I tell you that I am gonna snip Katara's little hair deedalees right off!" He made a scissors motion with his fingers beside Zuko's ear and then hiccupped again. "Right off!"

Zuko stopped the cup that he had tilted to his lips and leaned back against his seat to get a better look at the inebriated Sokka. "Dee-da-lee-what?

"Her hair deedalees!" Sokka slurred, taking his hand off from around Zuko's shoulders so that he could clutch at his own hair in frustration. "Her hair loopies!" He pantomimed.

"Oh."

Katara let out an inelegant snort as she watched Zuko's half-lidded eyes trail over her and then whip his head forward when she had caught him looking.

Sokka had leaned forward and pointed his drink at Zuko, the cactus juice sloshing out of the wooden cup onto his hands. "They're—" He stopped himself, his eyes narrowed on his sister before he leaned closer to Zuko, cupping his free hand to his mouth in conspiratorial manner. "Her loopies are evil!" he whispered loudly (_loud enough for her to hear_), raising the rim of the cup to his lips. "Momo told me." He pointed at the lemur and nodded. "And you know Momo's word is like gold!"

Zuko stared past Sokka at Momo, who was sitting on a chair with his own mini cup of cactus juice balanced on his paws. He was making little click-purring noises at the back of his throat as he blinked his enormous black eyes at the Firebender. Once the slightly odd and unnerving staring contest ended, Zuko sat back in his chair and took another drink before turning his head back in Katara's direction and smiling shyly.

"I like her hair loopies," he commented, making the pretty Waterbender blush under his gaze. "They're pretty, like her."

Without warning, Sokka suddenly reached over and grabbed Zuko by his collar, yanking him close so that their noses touched. "What did you just say about my sister, Momo?

Zuko blinked slowly, going cross-eyed from trying to focus on Sokka. "Uhm, I'm Zuko."

Frowning, Sokka released the Firebender and waved his hand dismissively. "Quiet, Appa! I'm talking to Momo." He worriedly glanced around. "Momo?"

The lemur nimbly leapt up on the table in front of Sokka, cocking his head inquisitively to the side before making his random chirping noises. Sokka lunged forward, cup still in hand, and hugged the lemur tightly, pulling back to look the furry animal in the eye.

"Prince Zuzu," Sokka addressed Momo seriously, "did you just call me sister 'pretty'?"

Momo chattered unintelligibly while Zuko blushed, sinking into his chair in embarrassment. Katara hid her face with her hands and shook her head, lamenting the fact that she never had a sister. Unfortunately, the night only got worse from there with Sokka blatantly accusing both Momo and Appa of mutiny. Momo cried and then so did Sokka. They reconciled with a sobbing hug. It was all very touching to witness.

Then, at some point, Sokka had got a hold of an empty jug (_Katara was fairly certain that it was the jug her brother had used to dilute the cactus juice_) and began to play. She was impressed. He had mastered the concept of breathing into a jug without passing out. Their ancestors would have been proud.

But as Sokka began to play, the rest of the gang got up to dance. It was a bit too much of a monotonous beat for Katara, but then she wasn't drunk or as easy entertained. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Yes, she was sober, but it wasn't like she wasn't entertained. Watching Zuko stagger to his feet and engage a giggling Toph in some odd Fire Nation square dance was _incredibly_ entertaining. In fact, Katara laughed so hard that she fell out of her chair.

"Zuzu!" Sokka slurred, spittle flying as he stopped puffing on the jug. "Get 'er!" He pointed a long finger at his sister before starting up on the jug again.

Zuko smiled at Katara and then bowed formally to Toph before sidestepping her to where Katara lay. He bent down and gently took her by her wrist, lifting her to her feet with ease. His hand slid along her palm and it jarred her, sending a shockwave up her arm. When he pulled her in, causing her to shift in towards his chest, the top of her head barely reached his chin. She had to stand on her toes to reach up and wrap her arms around his neck as he spun her around on the makeshift dance floor.

As the night dragged on and everyone else started to retire to their rooms in a drunken stupor, Katara and Zuko were still dancing. They danced with only the music in their heads or maybe it was the sounds of crickets chirping. Regardless, they didn't stop. They danced until no one was left but them, and it was then that Katara stopped giggling and twirling about in Zuko's hands and turned around, seeing no one there.

She awkwardly took a step back, away from Zuko, her hands still clutched in his. "We should go to bed now," she said shyly, and then blushed at the possible innuendo. "That is, you should go to your bed and I should go to mine."

"We should," he agreed, still holding onto her hands, smiling that dreamy half-smile of his.

It always unnerved her when he smiled so openly at her like that. Unnerved and charmed her – right from the tips of her toes all the way up to the top of her head. And as they continued to gaze at each other silently, she could feel the warmth of his hands caress hers.

He took a step forward and slowly bent down towards her. She tilted her chin up to meet him, and she felt her heart begin to speed up to the point where she felt like she was either going to faint or vomit or both. Then her eyes caught sight of a trail of light and she dropped one of his hands to point up at the night sky.

"Look, Zuko, a shooting star!"

He swayed on his feet, still bent forward, and then followed her hand up. He stumbled back and she reached out to catch him, steadying him as he gazed up at the sky.

"Make a wish," she whispered beside him, still clutching onto his arm.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, looking down at her with that charming, sweet smile of his lingering on his lips. "Wanna look at the stars, Katara?"

Something inside her stirred at hearing her name on his lips; it was like a butterfly kiss to rare to touch. She blushed, leaning into his arm, and nodded shyly.

Going back over to the table and grabbing a blanket, he fanned it out onto the ground, and they both lay down on their backs, looking up at the stars. As their shoulders touched, she blushed profusely, hoping that the night sky would hide the bloom in her cheeks. He pointed at the constellations, saying their names aloud, and each time he said her name, it was like music to her ears. It was sweet and low, like a secret murmured from a composer's lips. She felt his voice hum in her ears, vibrate against her skin.

Reaching over and feeling with his left hand, he closed his fingers around hers and pointed them at the constellations – at Scorpion and Archer. His touch was hot and electrifying, searing Katara's skin all the way to the bone, until all she could feel were his fingers entwined in hers and the pulse of his heart beneath them.

"What are all their names?" she asked, her whispered voice catching in her throat. Her eyes were wide as they searched the starlit sky, looking anywhere but into his soul-deep eyes. It was too dangerous there; she could become lost.

He listed off the constellations by memory and drew her finger in the air with his. As he pointed at them, he reached over with his right hand to transcribe their characters along the inside of her wrist. It was an innocent gesture, but nothing felt innocent about it. Instead, she shivered excitedly, her arm trembling in his grasp, and she bit her bottom lip in concentration, making herself repeat the names as a distraction from his touch.

When he stopped talking, she turned to look at him, her cheek resting against the blanket next this. He was blinking slowly, languidly, but his golden eyes were fixed on her like he was trying to read her thoughts. His gaze left her mesmerised and breathless, and she drank in his image like he was something fleeting and lovely, a song she would forget like filigree curls of smoke if she trusted this moment to her memory alone.

He turned over on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, reaching a hand out to tuck an errant lock behind her ear. She felt his fingers linger on her cheek and she held her breath. A heartbeat of silence passed slowly, followed by another, until she exhaled and he leaned in close. Eyes half-lidded, his thumb slid down her cheek towards her lips, lingering there, entreating.

She closed her eyes in permission, feeling his lips precariously close to hers. She counted: one Ba Sing Se, two Ba Sing Sang, three Ba Sing Sang. And then a gentle noise came to her ears, like a soft droning or the sound of the ocean whistling in a shell. When she finally opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she saw: Zuko was passed out with his hand still resting on her cheek and his head cradled to his shoulder to support its own weight.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Letting out a snort of frustration (_and slight amusement_) Katara slowly pushed him over so that he was lying on his back. He let out a grunt of air before resting his hands on his stomach and snoring softly for all the world to hear. His dark hair was a mess across his forehead and his closed eyes were peaceful, making her heart swell with a tinge of happiness.

Convinced that he was asleep, she tentatively brought a hand to his scar and felt the smooth ridges beneath her fingertips. When he didn't stir under her touch, she bent down and planted a soft kiss on his scar, feeling the skin pucker beneath her lips.

"G'night, Zuko," she whispered, taking the blanket out from underneath her and gingerly draping it over his long frame as not to wake him. "You're going to feel a lot of pain when you wake up."

Giggling softly to herself, Katara stood up and left Zuko alone in the courtyard while she retired to her own room. As she walked away, she could not see the sly smile creeping onto his lips or notice his left eye opening to watch her leave.

Hangover the next morning be damned; it was more than worth it for Zuko.

**-x-**

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**Random Ramblings:** This story takes place at the Fire Lord's summer house (_hence the courtyard and the fountain and the pretty, pretty rooms all to themselves_). It's set not too long before Aang runs off to hold palaver with that mysterious lion turtle and Sozin's Comet comes crashing down upon them (_intense? zomg, yes! *eats popcorn*_). Needless to say, nerves are raw at this point and they all just need to relax (_chillax, dudes_). Thus, it was Sokka's suggestion to break out the hooch for a little square dance, Southern Water Tribe style (_aww yeah, baby!_).

Sure, cactus juice makes you more hallucinogenic than drunk, but Sokka has learnt from his past cactus juice swigging days how to dilute the stuff so that it's like drinking distilled moonshine, without the "Mama, I've done gone blinded myself!" side-effects. Some can't handle their CT (_that's short for cactus juice – keep up, people!_) and get knocked off their gourd and hallucinate (_*cough* Sokka and Momo *cough*_) and some just become lovely sentimental (_but still manly_) drunks who say things they shouldn't say (*_whistles innocently while pointing at Zuko*_).


End file.
